Hundreds diverted by Gatwick fog

Flights could not land at Gatwick because of fog and runway repair work

Hundreds of airline passengers were diverted to airports as far away as Bristol due to fog and runway repair work at Gatwick.

The overnight disruption, which saw a total of 24 easyJet, British Airways and Thomson flights diverted to Bristol, Luton, Stansted and Heathrow, also caused the cancellation of three BA short-haul morning services due to fly from Gatwick with eight further flights delayed.

The disruption, which highlights the importance of having
travel insurance to protect against unforeseen events, left some 1,500 passengers having to be transferred back to Gatwick by coach.

Short and medium-haul flights into Gatwick had to be diverted from about 12.10am onwards after the fog reduced visibility.

A spokesman for Gatwick airport said they had informed all flight operators about the planned maintenance work on the airport's main runway, adding: "When we do that we have to use our second runway which is a visual strip. We then suffered some fog which led to 24 aircraft being diverted."